FAQ’s

Select “An initial work permit or a work permit with a new employer”.

This section is very important as the officer will use your address to mail you your work permit. If the address is inaccurate, you might not receive your work permit.

• A “P.O. Box” is a paid lockable mailbox located in a post office station which you pay to rent. Your mail box number in your apartment or residence is not a P.O. Box number.
• If you do not have an assigned mailbox number, you can put your apartment number under Apt/Unit.
• A street number is the main number on the outside of a building that indicates the location of a building on a street.
• Some “street names” also contain numbers, such as West 10th Ave, but this number is part of the street name.
• If you live in a residence on campus, you might have an assigned mailbox number. You can
  provide your mail box number in brackets after the street name; for example: “Lower Mall (mailbox 4025)”.

A document number appears on official immigration documents (e.g. study permits). It is usually printed in black ink with a letter (an “F” for study permits) followed by a 9-digit number.

Because the post-graduation work permit is an open work permit, you are not required to have a job offer. Even if you have a job offer, it is best to follow the above example and indicate “Not applicable” in these fields.

In this section you can select your own province, and type “Not applicable” in the field provided for an address.

If you do not have a job, you may indicate your occupation as “Job seeker”. In the field provided for “brief description of duties” you may type “As assigned”.

• In the “From” field: Type in the date when you will submit your application.
• In the “To” field: Type in a date that corresponds with the length of work permit that you are eligible. For example, students who complete a program of two years or more in length are eligible for a three-year work permit. For more information on post-graduation work permit length, refer to the IRCC website.

The information you provide in this section gives IRCC a fuller picture of your current post-secondary education.

• The first section under employment is your “current activity”.
• If you are currently employed, include details of your current employment.
• If you currently do not work, you can type in “student” and include the time you studied at your college/university.
• Provide information about your employment history, including full time or part time work in the past 10 years in any country, if applicable.

You must answer these questions truthfully.

• 2 (a) Have you remained beyond the validity of your status, attended school without authorization or worked without authorization in Canada?
• 2 (b) Have you ever been refused a visa or permit, denied entry or ordered to leave Canada or any other country?
• 2 (c) Background information: Have you previously applied to enter or remain in Canada?
• If you have ever applied for a Canadian study permit, a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV), or a work permit, whether it was approved or refused, you must report it to IRCC by checking the box "Yes" to 2(c) and writing down when you applied for each type of document in the box and provide details. Most students will need to answer “Yes” to this question.

What happens after your work permit application is approved ?

Once you receive your post-graduation work permit, check the length of the work permit to make sure it was issued correctly:

• If your program of study was at least eight months and less than two years in length, your work permit should match the length of your program
• If your program of study was two years or more in length, or a graduate program that was 16-23 months in length with no scheduled breaks, you should receive a three-year work permit
• Exception: Your work permit cannot be issued for longer than your passport; therefore, a shorter work permit may be issued based on your passport expiry date. If this is the case, you must first extend your passport, and then apply to extend your work permit for the remainder of the time for which you are eligible.

Keep your documents up to date

• Keep your immigration and health insurance documents up to date by completing the following important steps:
• Keep track of the expiry date of your work permit. You must either leave Canada or apply for another immigration document before your work permit expires.
• Apply for or extend your Social Insurance Number (SIN). You need a valid a SIN to be paid for work in Canada.
• Be sure to extend your Medical Services Plan (MSP)
• Apply for a new Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) to enter Canada (if required),

OR

• Check that you have an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) that is valid until the same date or a future date. An eTA is required to re-enter Canada for citizens of specific countries.